1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a nozzle device for exhausting a washing liquid in a reaction chamber and is suitably employed for biochemical reactions such as immunological reactions, particularly suitable as a B/F separation device in immunological reactions.
2. Background of the Related Art
In most apparatuses for biochemical reactions so far employed, a particular reaction is carried out in a vessel which provides a reaction chamber (cell), the inside of the reaction chamber is washed, and then the product is measured by means of a particular optical or other method.
Among these methods, for example, estimation of the enzymatic immunity may be conducted by several processes as described, for example, in Clinical Chemistry, Vol. 22, No. 8, 1243-1255 (1976). It is a commonly known process, in the competition or sandwich method known as an enzymatic immunological reaction, that an antigen-antibody reaction is carried out in a reaction chamber and the change produced on the substrate by the action of a label enzyme on the conjugate which is connected to the antigen-antibody reaction product complex is optically detected. In this process, however, it is required to leave the labelled conjugate connected to the antigen-antibody reaction product complex in the reaction chamber prior to the injection of the mentioned substrate. For this purpose, the conjugate connected to the antigen-antibody reaction product complex should be fixed in the reaction chamber, while the conjugate which is not connected to the antigen-antibody reaction product complex should be removed from the reaction chamber by washing. Leaving the conjugate which is connected to the antigen-antibody reaction product complex in the reaction chamber can usually be accomplished by a prior treatment in which one of the components that compose the antigen-antibody reaction product complex, either the antigen or the antibody, is fixed and held beforehand on an insoluble carrier in the reaction chamber (the carrier is, for example, the inner wall of the vessel which forms the reaction chamber or any granular matter packed in the reaction chamber).
The granular matter (hereinafter designated as beads), assuming it contains a magnetic substance, has an oscillating magnetic field applied from outside and oscillates in the reaction chamber which effectively agitates a sample solution and the substrate injected into the reaction chamber.
As mentioned above, the beads conveniently provide an insoluble carrier surface on which a particular antibody (or antigen) is fixed and held. For example, a particular antibody (or antigen) which corresponds to an item of inspection is fixed onto the surface of beads as an insoluble carrier and the beads are placed in a sealed test cup with which to test unknown samples. Different kinds of beads carrying different kinds of antigens fixed on them corresponding to different items of inspection are prepared and are placed in different test cups. In actual use, a suitable test cup is selected according to the object sample and the necessary item of inspection and is settled on the predetermined holding mechanism in order to bring the cup to the measuring device. Thus, an efficient procedure of measurement can be realized.
This system characteristically enables one to achieve effective results in an apparatus in which the estimation is automated.
When granular matter or beads are used as the carrier, as mentioned above, it is necessary when supplying and exhausting a washing liquid to take care that the beads are not swept away with the washing liquid current and that the current does not negatively influence on the beads.